Strong enough
by Dark Lady of Silence
Summary: "I know you very well my son, and I am pretty sure that someday very soon, you will be strong enough".


**Hi everybody!, This is my first TMNT fic, and it is a Raph/Splinter not romance or incest fic. This is also my first fic in English, it's not my native language so if there's a error let me know ok? :)**

**I don't know TMNT, but I'm certainly grateful that they exist!**

**Strong enough**

There were three days now in which Leonardo had been fighting for his life. He was seriously damaged in an accident in the sewers when he and Raphael were playing follow the leader, and Raphael was the leader.

As always, Raphael was selecting unexplored places to take the game along, and as always he didn't think that something could go bad. He were turning here and there and he pretended not to hear Leonardo's voice calling him to stop and to come back to a more familiar area, and only from time to time he stopped only to watch his brother and say teasing "what?, you scared?, I'm the leader, follow me or lose!".

Leonardo was more than willing to come back home and let his brother alone with this stupid game, but he was supposed to be the elder brother, and he felt he had the duty to watch out on Raph, specially knowing his extraordinary ability to put himself into troubles, troubles that usually ended with injuries. It doesn't matter how hard or how long he tried, it seemed impossible for Leonardo to understand his brother.

While Raph continued going deeper and deeper in the sewers, Leonardo just sighed and tried to memorize the way and keep close to Raphael, but that was not easy at all so, being so focused in this two things to do, he didn't notice the damaged wall about to fall down, and when he accidentally passed too close to it, he didn't even had the time to scream for help.

The noise alerted Raphael, who felt a hole in his stomach when he called his brother out without getting an answer, so he ran as fast as he could just to find out that Leonardo was unconscious under a lot of big, heavy rocks. Raphael tried to wake up his brother, and used all of his strength to put away the wall imprisoning Leonardo, but he failed with both, he was too young, and even if he was the strongest among his brothers, he was not strong enough.

After a few tries, Raphael gave up and went back to the lair, and when Splinter saw him, with such a scared expression in his face, he didn't need a single word, and in an instant he was following his son and screaming back at the lair to Donatello and Michelangelo to stay at home until he was back, he was not sure of what was happened, so it was safer not to let the children see his brother until he knew everything was fine.

It was hard, but somehow Splinter managed to remove the rocks, sighing in relief when he noticed that Leonardo was still alive, and took him home being followed by a still frightened Raphael. Once in home, he calmed down when he realized Leonardo's state was not as bad as it seemed, but still he had to watch him carefully, after all, there was no way to know if he had internal injuries, he just could wait the best.

After three days that felt like weeks, Leonardo was so much better, even when he hadn't woken up yet, and it was until then that Splinter could pay attention to his other sons. Michelangelo and Donatello were fine, after the surprise in the beginning, they believed their father's words and trusted Leonardo was fine, they were a little concerned, but were not as scared as Raphael was, when Splinter saw him he noticed Raphael looked tired, and he wondered himself if he had got some sleep since that day.

Slowly, Splinter approached to Raphael's side, he had the sight lost and was murmuring something that sounded like "not fair…..his place…..my fault", but Splinter wasn't able to hear clearly what he was saying. Splinter put slowly a hand in his son's shoulder, and got really worried when it took about eight seconds to Raphael to notice the fact that his father was there.

"My son, are you alright?". The old rat asked with concern in his eyes. "Yes, it… no, actually I'm not ok at all". Raphael replied looking down to the floor. Splinter knew that saying that was very difficult to Raphael, he was after all, since the very start, a so much prided warrior, so being incapable of manage something like his own mood, and have the courage to accept it made Splinter smile secretly in his insides, his little son was getting better every day.

"So, what's the matter?, are you still worried for your brother?. I can assure you that he will recover very soo..". "No, it's not about Leo's actual state". Splinter was interrupted for his son, who was now talking a little louder, but was still looking at the floor. "The problem is, sensei, that it was all my fault, I know it, and I can't understand why you are not mad at me, it's just that, if I wouldn't insist in that stupid game, you know?, I always feel like I have to win to Leo, I don't know why, but I always do, and when that wall came over him and I couldn't do nothing about it, I realized that I was weak, or at least weaker than I used to think, and I didn't like it, I just wanted to be able to take my bro out of there, but it doesn't matter how hard I was trying, I had to come to you to help me, and I felt so….useless, I mean, how am I supposed to protect my brothers like that?".

Splinter hugged Raphael very tight and let his tears and sobs come over by around one hour until finally Raphael started calming down. This was the first time Splinter saw his son that way, and had encountered feelings, by one side it was painful to see Raphael like that, but in the other side he felt that Raphael needed him, and this one was a feeling that Splinter didn't have since a long time ago, and he enjoyed it secretly. Splinter spend a few minutes trying to convince Raphael that even when the accident had been his fault (this was true and it was necessary not to lie about it), he had done the right thing and he had had the courage necessary to accept the fact the he was weak, and then he assured him that someday he would be stronger than he could even think, but Raphael didn't seem so sure about this last part. Finally, totally exhausted Raphael decided to get some sleep after seeing Leonardo was in fact so much more ok than he was the first day, but made Splinter promised him to wake him up if Leo woke up or if he needed anything.

Splinter knew that there were a lot of things that were uncertain about the future, but there was one thing he had not doubt at all, and while seeing Raphael walking to his room, he couldn't help but think to himself, "I know that now you feel you are useless, but I know you very well my son, and I am pretty sure that someday very soon, you will be strong enough".


End file.
